Improvement in horse-rakes



NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB A. SPEAR, OF BRAINTREE, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE-RAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 58,689, dated Oetober Q, 1866.

T0 all whom tt may concert.

Be it known that I, JACOB A. SPEAR, of Braintree, in the county of Orange and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Horse-Rakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the nature, construction, and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whieh are made a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a plan of a horse-rake illustrating noy invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of the same in the line 00 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a front view of the rake as detached from the machine, the red lines indicating the relative positions of the two parts of the rake in passing through a hollow.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The subject of myinvention is a rake mounted upon a two-wheel one-horse carriage, and in which the head to which the rake-teeth are attached is made in sections t0 'adapt the teeth t0 conform to the surface of the ground, and thus maintain their operative position in passing over knolls or through hollows or other nneven places, where the teeth, if attached to a single rigid head, would De partially rendered inoperative; and the improvement consists in a novel method of combining and arranging the scveral parts by Which the rake-head is controlled by the attendant.

In order that others skilled in the art to which nny invention appertains may be enabled t0 fully understand and use the same, I Will procee'd to describe it in connection with the accompanying drawings.

A A represent the thills; B B, the wheels; and C the iron axle. The axle may be fitted into a longitudinal groove in the wooden stock D, and the axle and stock can be connected together by metallic bauds or straps c c, and otherwise made fast to each other. The thills extend a suitable distance behind the axle, and on their upper surfaces, at their rear ends, is bolted a board, E, on which the attendant ma; stand. The thills are sunk into the stock D, so that the front edge of the board E has an even bearing on the said stock, as well as on the rear ends of the thills, as represented.

The braces 0, which are attached to the under side of the tl1ills, and extend beneath the axle, serve as an additional means of securing the axle and stock together.

F represents a rock-shaft mounted upon the carriage, and attached by hinges t0 a cleat, 0, which is fastened to the hind part of the board E, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

G G are two levers attached to the rockshaft F, and affording the means for operating the rake. The hinges by which the rockshaft F is connected to the cleat e are composed of eyebolts H H, connected by a pivot at h. These eyebolts H serve to connect the cleat 0 to the rear edge of the board E and to secure the levers G G to the rock-shaft F. The eyebolts H also attach the bars I I to the nnder side of the board E, and the bars I I are let into the stock D so as to be flush with the nnder surface of the board E.

Projecting forward of the board E, and com verging toward the front, the bars I I have attached to their forward ends a foot-board, J, and to the board J is also attached a bar, P, whioh nearl3 joins the bar I at a suit able angle to form a recess, K, (sec Fig. 1,) in which the left foot of the attendant may be braced when the connecting-bar G of the levers G G is depressed by the foot in order to elevate the rake. The space on the board J between the bars I P accommodates the right foot of the attendant.

A foot-board, L, provided With a cleat, 1, is attached to the levers G G at a suitable point behind the rock shaft F, and enables the weight of the body to be thrown npon the rake to hold it down to its work.

M M are two arms or reachcs, connected by eyebolts N N to the opposite ends of the rockshaft F, and bolted to the respective sections 0 0 of the rake-head. The reaches may be stayed by braces n n, extending from the rakehead. The two sections 0 0 of the rake-head are connected together by a hook and eye at 0 0, which form a joint connection, whereby the sections of the rake-head are rendered susceptible ofindependent vibration to conform t0 knolls or hollows, as indicated by the red limes in Fig. 4:.

The rear ends of the levers G- G are connected together by a board or bar, P, Which has slots p p formed in its ext-remities, t0 re= *reaches to the rake-head. The fiat bars Q ceive thc ends of the fiat bars Q Q, which at their forward onde are secured to the reaches M M by the same bolts q chat attach the said are also attaehed at their central portions to the false rakehead R R, which is made in scctions, to correspond with the rake -head 0 The false head B B is formed with notehes or grooves, each of whieh receives one of the coils of a rake-tooth, S, which raketeeth are coiled around the false rake-head B R, and rest in said notches, so as to be prcvented from tnrning in the rake-head O 0, in which the shank or straight extremity of the raketooth is inserted, as shown in Fig. 2.

Standards T T, connected at top by a bar, T, and suitably braced, are scrcwed or bolted to the thilis A A, and serve as a support for the attendant t0 hoid on to while the rake is in operation. These standards may be readily detaehed and dispenscdwith when desirable. The connections M N Q between the rocki shaft F and the rake are adapted to nndergo the requisite motion t o conform to the independent vibration of the respective sections of the rake, and the ends of the bars Q play freely in the slots 19 in the connecting-board P, when snch vibration coeurs.

Having thns described my invention, the following is what I olaim as new herein and desire to secnre by Letters Patent- 1. The arrangement upon the carriage A B 0 of the boards E J and bars I I P, as and for the purpose hercin described and represented.

2. In combination with the above, the hinged rook-shaft F, levers G G, connecting-bars G and P, reaches M, bars Q, and the sectionai jointed rake O O, R R, S, when constrncted and arranged in the manner and for the purpose speeified.

JAOOB A. SPEAR.

Witnesses:

ELLEN N. SANDERS, HARRIET BOYCE. 

